Why You Can’t Always Stop Your Teeth from Staining

With a consistently good dental hygiene routine and being attentive to your oral health needs, you have a good chance of preventing a lot of things that could potentially threaten your oral health. That includes tooth decay, which leads to cavities and erodes your teeth, as well as gum disease, which destroys the gum tissues and bone structure that support your teeth. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always include the stains that can develop on the surfaces of your teeth over time.

The nature of the most common teeth stains

The most common types of teeth stains, which typically develop on the outer surface of your teeth, aren’t usually a threat to your smile like tooth decay and gum disease are. Their greatest impact may be on your overall self-confidence, which the appearance of your smile is likely a big part of. Common surface teeth stains, known as extrinsic stains, can develop from several different sources. For example, the colorful molecules (or chromogens) in your food and beverages can cling to your tooth enamel, and over the years, start to become more noticeable as the color of your teeth seem to change.

What can you do to slow them down?

The way in which many common teeth stains develop is a big reason why you can’t always prevent them. The only way to successfully do so would be to avoid food and beverages, which isn’t possible (and would only lead to many more serious oral and overall health concerns). However, their nature also provides the key to slowing down their development. For instance, your tooth enamel will show the signs of staining faster if you don’t keep it consistently strong and healthy. Keeping your teeth clean of oral bacteria with consistently good hygiene will help prevent the bacteria from weakening your tooth enamel. Also, eating plenty of healthy foods, including dairy products rich in calcium, will help your teeth keep their enamel nourished and strong throughout the day.

If your teeth stain from the inside

The good thing about common teeth stains is the fact that they don’t usually pose a threat to the health and integrity of your teeth. Generally, chromogens aren’t harmful other than their tendency to affect the appearance of your tooth enamel. However, not all teeth stains and discoloration are the same. Sometimes, a tooth may begin to change color for a more serious reason, such as the development of tooth decay or a form of internal damage. If this occurs, then improving your smile’s appearance will only be one priority, after resolving the issue and restoring your good oral health.

Learn what your teeth stains mean

Though you can’t prevent some kinds of teeth stains, you can do a lot to keep your smile stain-free longer. To learn more, call our Cleveland Family Dentistry office in Cleveland, TX, today at (281) 592-1234. We also serve the residents of Kingwood, Conroe, Livingston, and all surrounding communities.